Do You Try Different Vocal Tactics When You Record Your UTAU?

[PurinPuff]

Now, I've been failing at recording for a while, mainly because I have a crappy mic, and I don't feel content enough to call it a day with my UTAU's Act 1.

So, what techniques do you use when you voice act specific characters? Do you use your diaphragm when making loud voices? How much breath do you incorporate? Do you ever plug your nose for a nasally sound? If you're a female making a male UTAU, do you try to sound boyish, or do you just use a g flag? Etc. Etc.

Care to share some tips for someone who's a n00b to recording?

 

[MioDioDaVinci]

Well, for a female making a male voice on a Mac, I recorded my voice a bit higher than usual and used the Vocal Transformer in GarageBand to change the notes themselves. Adding -12 sound and -3 pitch there worked best for me, but I assume you're most likely working on a PC. ono;;

For making a strong bank, I tried to stay a medium distance from the mic and project my voice, mainly focusing on keeping an nice, even pitch/volume. A clean start and clean end on a note does wonders I tell you. I personally tried to keep breath to a minimum for a strong bank, but I'd assume a soft bank requires a lot more breath.

Also, for making separate characters, accents, tones, and pitches really do distinguish them. If you record one bank with a flat, masculine tone and the next with a tight, accented one, the two should sound fairly different.

I, for one, don't have much experience in voice acting separate banks, but with tests I've done, the difference is astounding.

 

[Hentai]

Key to celerity was a level of consistency in delivery.

Many people try to 'voice act' but do so in a voice they are uncomfortable with and are unable to remain consistent at. If you are only going for 1 bank then find a range you are comfortable singing/recording at and aim for a constant delivery.

Acting is nice, clear acting is even better. Also don't be afraid to touch it up in post-processing. There is nothing wrong modifying your RAW samples before you OTO it. The better your samples the better the end result.

 

[scarfu]

I think for people who are try to record multiple UTAU, changing your tactic/method is really important... Small things can really drastically change how different the resulting voicebanks sound!

You can sing from your diaphragm, with your head voice and with a nasal-- those are three really basic and simple method changes that everybody can do. Changing your accent around is also something that can drastically change how your UTAU sounds--pronounce your sounds a little differently than you normally would, maybe exaggerate it like they do in visual kei rock songs or something, and you'll get a different sound too...

For female to male voices, I provide some advice: people would THINK that trying to voice act yourself "boyish" would sound good, but it really doesn't XD; I made that mistake with Kasui with his first voicebank and it sounded GOD awful. For more believable male voices, I've noticed that if you sing at a higher note and then pitch it down a few steps, it generally sounds pretty believable (provided you're also trying to work with "male" pronunciation and are not just singing with your natural voice).

 

[MillyAqualine]

Generally, I tend to act like if I was the UTAU I'm recording (it may sound silly but it really helped me orz )

After, I test some tones like, if I use an energetic tone, if I produce a soft note, if I go hyper childish and chibi or trying a child's voice by getting slightly higher, if I try a mature voice... I play with my voicerange too

Then, I play with parts like nose, throat and my stomach or like some already said, with intonations (I don't say accents because mine is huge and despite my efforts, it's still noticeable ><"' )

However, I've still a weakness and it's probably my hugest one (and a proof my voice acting needs A LOT OF WORK and isn't pro at all) : I'm unable to sound like a convincing boy/dude naturally...

Despite having a quite deep voice when I talk (and people may get shocked when they hear the difference between my singing and my speaking x'D), I cannot go lower than that...

So, I end up doing at my best an angry shonen/shounen (and I take the risk to kill my vocal cords for few days if I force too much)... And most of time, like a girl desesperately trying to sound like a male but who fails orz

It's also the reason why for mature male voices, I pitch... *feels guilty* But well, it's fun because it permitted me to be familiar with pitchchanges and to get a new way to use my voice~ Plus, it's fun to hear how you would sound as a guy x'DD And to avoid them sounding the same, I use different starting voices and various pitchings

Finally, don't hesitate to mess with styles~ Like opera, rock, etc... (For somebody I recorded  a screamo voicebank XDDD)